Protecting pets

Sunday

Sep 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 30, 2007 at 5:03 AM

As a registered nurse, state Rep. Jennifer Callahan has seen how domestic abuse impacts families. As an animal lover, Callahan, D-Sutton, has also fostered and adopted many animals that have been abused or neglected.

Ira Kantor, Daily News staff

As a registered nurse, state Rep. Jennifer Callahan has seen how domestic abuse impacts families. As an animal lover, Callahan, D-Sutton, has also fostered and adopted many animals that have been abused or neglected.

Now Callahan has filed a bill that would require judges to include pets in protective orders when dealing with domestic abuse cases. As of 2007, Maine, New York, Nevada, Tennessee and Vermont have already put this practice into law.

"By allowing judges to include pets in their protective orders, the lives of countless animals will be saved," Callahan said in an e-mail. "Too many abusers are using animals as a tool to further manipulate and control their victims."

Callahan cited a study by Frank Ascione, a psychology professor at Utah State University, that said 80 percent of female domestic violence victims who live in shelters reported their animals were being abused by their former partner.

Under Callahan's bill, anyone who persists in abusing an animal against a judge's orders would face up to five years of prison time, and fines of up to $2,500. The bill also includes a provision for livestock treated as a pet and not kept for commercial or agricultural purposes.

"To safely relocate a large animal is often too great a burden for individuals to handle during such a tumultuous time," Callahan said. "That is why it is crucial to include companion livestock in this legislation."

Debra Gabowitz, an official with Milford's Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, said the bill needs to be passed. About 5 percent to 10 percent of all cases she has handled involved animal welfare.

"We have had instances where an abuser, in retaliation, would take a healthy live pet and put it down," Gabowitz said. "There's no reason to do that other than to prove you can."

Milford animal control officer Rochelle Thomson said she has seen several cases where domestic abusers use animals as pawns to lure victims back home.

"Some people view their animals a lot like children," she said. "Some people even prefer their animals over other things."

Thomson also said the bill would offer important protections for pets.

"If somebody's taken away and put into a battered shelter or children are taken away by the Department of Social Services, at least the animals aren't left in a bad situation," she said.

Milford Police Chief Thomas O'Loughlin questioned the necessity of the bill. He said animal abuse is already a felony in the state and many cases of such abuse would also violate any restraining orders.

"If the order says you stay away from the home and you go back and harm an animal to send a message to the party that got the order, then that's a violation in itself," he said.